Today we’d like to introduce you to Giuseppina Ciarla.
Hi Giuseppina, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, my name is Giuseppina Ciarla, and I am the principal harpist of the Sarasota Opera. I also regularly collaborate with the Sarasota Orchestra and all the major music organizations in the Sarasota/Tampa area, as well as several in my native Italy. And I maintain a harp studio in Sarasota, The Sarasota Harp Academy, where I teach students of all ages.
I began playing the harp in Italy after my music teacher at middle school recommended me to the Conservatory, the national professional music school in Italy. The Conservatory of Campobasso, the capital city of my region of Molise, an hour away from my hometown of Termoli in southeast Italy, invited me to audition for them. Music has always been my go-to place from a very early age. I used to play the guitar and the recorder by ear and sing. My dad, who is an amateur self-taught classical guitarist, introduced my siblings and me to the wonders of classical, Opera, Jazz, and popular music. He greatly inspired us with his eclectic and refined taste in music.
How did you get started playing the harp?
I had only seen the harp once when the music teachers at my conservatory admission exam suggested that I study it. At that point, I wanted to play the flute since I spent hours playing the recorder by ear. However, once given the choice, I never looked back. The moment I saw the harp at my first lesson, embraced it, and plucked the strings for the first time, I knew I had found the love of my life. My very first harp teacher was Maria Rosa Canepa, principal harpist with the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome. I have her to thank for the warmth in my tone since her sound was the most beautiful I have ever heard.
What was the transition from your studies to your professional life?
After finishing a cycle of ten years of studies to get my Conservatory diploma with the highest mark, I began a professional career, performing with different orchestras and chamber music groups. While pursuing my classical music career, I never stopped nurturing my childhood approach to music, composing, singing, and arranging songs from different genres of music. Following my innate curiosity for the possibilities that the harp has in different music settings, I came to the States to attend a jazz and pop harp festival in Tucson Arizona. Lyon & Healy, the American gold standard harp manufacturer based in Chicago, used to have an annual Jazz and pop festival in different American cities. The year I came, this festival was held in Tucson, AZ. That was the first American city I visited, and it was an unforgettable experience. I had the privilege to meet several famous harpists including Stella Castellucci, Park Stickney, Deborah Henson-Conant, and the harpist who invited me and offered me a scholarship to study with her: Dr. Carrol McLaughlin, the harp professor at U of A. That experience changed my life, and it gave me the opportunity to continue pursuing my music career in the States. I spent three years studying with Dr. McLaughlin, and I earned a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree with honors in record time. After Tucson, I moved to Santa Fe, NM, where I regularly performed with Santa Fe Pro Musica and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. I had the great joy to perform with the most influential players of our time, from flutists Carol Wincenc and Tara Helen O’Connor to the Axelrod String Quartet, clarinetist Eddie Daniels, pianist and composer Marc Neikrug, violinist Benny Kim, bandoneon player Daniel Binelli, just to name a few!
How did come to work in Sarasota?
While in Santa Fe, I was invited to audition for the Sarasota Opera in Florida. I remember recording the audition tape with such joy and hope, and how wonderful it was to be selected to become the new harpist for this wonderful company. Meeting Maestro DeRenzi, the music director of the Sarasota Opera, and his family was a real gift in my life. I have been the principal harpist with the Sarasota Opera since 2002, bringing to the company my previous knowledge of Opera, and learning so much in all these years. I love playing Opera, and I believe that Opera playing is the most rewarding and complex music experience for an orchestral player. It is chamber music on steroids and a profoundly spiritual endeavor with its synergy between the singers, staging, and orchestra. It is the perfect theatrical experience, a choral effort!
Since joining the Sarasota Opera, I lived between Italy and the States for many years. In 2011 and 2012, I took a leave of absence from the Sarasota Opera to perform with Petruzzelli Opera Theatre in my native Bari, Italy. During those magical years, I had the great pleasure of performing extensively with world-class conductors and extraordinary productions, among which I like to remember Maestro Lorin Maazel, The Bolshoi ballet in a production of Swan Lake, as well as with performances at the Lincoln Center in New York and the Italian Embassy in Washington DC.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
My life has been quite an adventure so far. From a relatively small town in Italy, I was able to move by myself to the States and pursue my dream of being a professional musician. Challenges are inevitable in life, and they come from multiple sources, external and internal. Being a musician is not for the faint of heart; it requires diligent work to keep yourself in shape, physically and mentally. We are subjected to constant scrutiny and evaluation, and it can be exhausting at times. I view it as a life mission. The joy I receive from performing wonderful works of art or from teaching my students repays me for all my efforts. It is a deep honor to inspire people and contribute to this life with the gift of beauty and deep feelings that music embodies. When I perform, and people come to greet me with tears in their eyes, I know that I am doing the right thing by continuing to pursue this unconventional but deeply rewarding life. When I sing and play my songs on the harp, I feel at one with my instrument; it is a deeply spiritual experience. Having said this, transporting the harp is very challenging; you need a big enough car and a strong back to lead load the harp into the car by yourself. I always felt empowered to be able to move the harp by myself since I am a petite woman! But after so many years, it has become more and more of a chore. The harp is also an extremely expensive instrument that requires equally expensive maintenance. Our industry can be cutthroat at times, and we deal with rejection on a regular basis. In my personal life, I would say that the biggest challenges have been my divorce and living so far away from my family that is all in Italy.
All right, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
During the 2020 pandemic, I recorded my debut album as a singer and player. The name of the album is “A Ticket Home,” and it is available on all streaming platforms and on Band Camp.
The album, which is completely self-produced, contains 11
songs, including purely instrumental versions of Oblivion and Libertango by Astor Piazzolla, as well adaptations for voice and harp of Qué Será, Será by Doris Day; Italian classics like In Cerca di Te, Maria Marì!, and Bella Ciao; the timeless jazz standard Nature Boy by Eden Ahbez; The Ballad of Sacco and Vanzetti by Joan Baez-Ennio Morricone; and Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. In addition to these popular and iconic classics arranged entirely by me, the album also includes two original songs that I composed, Preghiera (Prayer) and L’Invasione di Farfalle (Butterfly Invasion). I created this repertory note by note, dipping freely from a creative source deep within myself. This is not a typical road for a classically trained musician. But it is a need I have cultivated all my life, as one might care for an indoor plant, lovingly protecting it from the elements and from the eyes of others. But the plant has grown and grown, and the time has come to bring it out into the open air to share it with others. A Ticket Home is an ideal abode, the perfect refuge, a place in which to feel free and creative. For some of us, it represents a constant search; for others, it is a comforting certainty. This album will transport you to your favorite home, filled with emotions, memories, love, and hope.
There was another question here?
Not every classical musician can compose, arrange and sing while playing their instrument. This sets me apart from my colleagues since I am equally at home in the classical professional world as an orchestral or chamber music player, and a soloist, as well as in this unique cross-over realm. I was able to present my album in Rome at the prestigious Officina Pasolini, and since its debut, I received wonderful reviews and critical acclaim. Last summer I was able to raise $10,000 in a concert entitled Hope from the Harp showcasing my songs. The profit benefitted the Ukranian refugees through an international organization called EmergencyUSA, and it was organized with the help of The Temple Sinai in Sarasota. Following this successful concert, I was invited to become an honorary board member of EmergencyUSA.
On May 11, 12, and 13, I will be performing in an eclectic production with the Sarasota Contemporary Dance Company. I invite all of you to come and experience my songs and the company’s talented dancers in a very intimate setting.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I am open to collaborations with different artists and art forms. There are so many ways to support an artist, and they are all equally appreciated. You can subscribe to my Youtube channel at Giuseppina Ciarla; please leave likes and comments as well. Follow me on social media @humanatharp, buy my album on Band Camp at Giuseppina Ciarla, come to my concerts, and study the harp with me. I am a certified Suzuki teacher as well, and I teach students ranging in age from 4 to 92! You can also hire me for a concert or private performance. Last, but not least, come talk to me after a concert and let me know if my music touched you. We musicians work so hard to ensure that our work reaches the highest possible standards, and it is wonderful to hear appreciation from our audience. For all info, my website is www.giuseppinaciarla.com
Contact Info:
- Website: www.giuseppinaciarla.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/humanatharp/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HumanatHarp
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GiuseppinaCiarlaHarp
- Other: https://linktr.ee/GiuseppinaCiarla
Image Credits
Billy Elkins
Sandy Swanson
Annnalisa Marinelli
